Monday, August 3, 2015

Anteater is a common name
for the four extant mammal species,
commonly known for eating ants and termites. They are related to
armadillos. Of the 20 varieties of
armadillo, all but one live in Latin America. Armadillo is a Spanish word
meaning “little armoured one” and refers to the bony plates that cover the
back, head, legs, and tail of most of these odd looking creatures. Armadillos
are the only living mammals that wear such shells.Contrary to popular belief,
not all armadillos are able to encase themselves in their shells. In fact, only
the three-banded armadillo can, curling its head and back feet and contorting
its shell into a hard ball that confounds would-be predators.

At Chepauk Pongal
Test no. 793 in Jan 1977 – Mike Brearley swept Erapalli Prasanna hard, the ball
hit the short leg fielder Mohinder Amarnath on his head, richochetted to the
bowler, who gleefully accepted an unusual Caught & Bowled dismissal - even as all fielders rushed to check Mohinder,
who was smiling !. …… A ricochet - is a rebound, bounce or skip off a surface,
particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident
and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile: it can still
be energetic and almost as dangerous as before the deflection. That Test also
saw the ‘ Vaseline ’ – John Lever who took 5 for 59 was reported by Umpire
Reuben to be carrying on his person a strip of surgical gauze impregnated with Vaseline,
which was a clear breach of Law 46. MCC
authorities however offered some excuse for its use. While they claimed that
Lever discarded it himself, it came to light when found out by the Umpire. That Lever had swung the ball prodigiously at
Kotla was debated, but buried !

Miles away, a
Texas man was wounded after he fired a gun at an armadillo in his yard and the
bullet ricocheted back to hit him in his face.
Cass County Sheriff is quoted as saying that the man, who was not
identified, went outside his home in Marietta, Texas, at around 3 a.m. local
time Thursday morning. He spotted the armadillo on his property and opened
fire."His wife was in the house. He went outside and took his .38 revolver
and shot three times at the armadillo," Rowe said.The animal's hard shell
deflected at least one of three bullets, which then struck the man's jaw, he
said.

The man was
airlifted to a nearby hospital, where his jaw was wired shut, according to the
reports which state that the status of the animal is unknown.

In April this year, BBC
reported that in the US state of Georgia, a woman was accidentally shot by her
son-in-law as he was trying to kill an armadillo with a handgun.Police said
that the bullet ricocheted off the animal's hard armour, entered the woman's
mobile home, and hit her in the back as she sat in a reclining chair.The
74-year-old woman was taken to the hospital and was recovering, said the local
police who added that people should use a shotgun when shooting armadillos.

Larry McElroy was about 100
yards (90 metres) away from the mobile home when he shot and killed the animal. The 9mm bullet bounced off the hard shell,
hit a fence, went through a backdoor and struck his seated mother-in-law.Armadillos
are considered pests in the US South. An
investigator of of the sheriff's office told media : "I really think if
they're going to shoot at 'varmints' and whatnot, maybe use a shotgun."

Ricochets are a hazard of
shooting because the bullet that ricochets poses a danger of causing collateral
damage to animals, objects, or even the person who fired the shot.In rare
cases, ricochets can return to the shooter. This can occur when the object
struck possesses enough resistance to withstand the impact of the bullet, and
its surface is perpendicular to the shooter.

Remember ‘ Fuleco,
the Armadillo’ was the official mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Fuleco is a
three-banded armadillo, a species of armadillo which is native to Brazil
and categorized as a vulnerable species. It was portrayed to be cheerful, appealing
character widely thought to represent the words, 'Brazil', 'Nature', 'Friendly'
and 'Passion for Football'. The mascot, with its message of environmental
concerns, the ecology and the sport turned out to be very popular with football teams
around the world. It represented Brazil
visiting international tourism fairs and other sports, cultural and
entertainment events in continents, travelling along with the FIFA World Cup
Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola.